Method and apparatus for editing a production data store by shadowing content

ABSTRACT

Improvements in the creation, maintenance and management of web based information are provided. A development environment conducive to separation of tasks and data, works in combination with the means to present views of changed information for approval to users. Data from file systems and database systems can be combined to create a rich source of material for users, while changes to such material can be effectively controlled and released for production.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to content management, and moreparticularly, to managing content by shadowing live contents withmultiple views of content.

2. General Background

There are many internet and intranet sites in existence today servingpages of information to a multitude of users throughout the world. Thesesites rely on a variety of data sources, some providing fixed or staticcontent, others providing dynamic content and typically hybrid sitesserving a combination of static and dynamic content. As users seek moreinformation in more efficient and easy to access forms the need fordelivering that information places a series of complex demands on theunderlying site.

Users expect information to be provided to them in a tailored manner bythe sites they visit. These expectations requires the site providers toprovide means to customize information to meet the users needs. Thiscustomization introduces complexity into the site creation, maintenanceand management. In addition to the complexity of handling large amountsof data the site must also be maintained in a current state, yieldingtimely information to users requests.

In current sites, the application of changes to the production systemmay cause destructive changes to the site contents. This type of changereplaces previous material with the new material and provides nomechanism for fallback. Errors created as a result of this process areimmediately viewed by users of the site.

Site development may be able to segment the files used to create thelook and feel of the site and assign responsibilities of updating suchfiles to specific individuals. When the files have been updated acollection must be made to aggregate the changed files and perform someform of integration build to combine the files into a complete site. Theintegration result is not a granular entity in that approvers must lookat the full site view to see changes. Many times this is more than anapprover wants to deal with and may have difficulty is seeing thechange.

Complexity of a site may make it difficult or impossible to overlaymultiple layers of change onto the production system to enable a review.This scenario would force approval of a series of changes to be late inthe process cycle adding risk to the change implementation. Thiscomplexity may also mean difficulty in establishment a duplicate of theproduction environment due to resource constraints and file managementissues. The duplicate of the production site would be used for testingprior to releasing the new content or changed content into production.

Some content managers used by sites provide organization changerecommendations based on frequency of use, providing information used torelocate files for faster access. These types of content managers can beconsidered as post production tools and do not provide assistance in thecreation and review of site material. Such content managers are usefulfor tuning sites after they have been in production for a period oftime.

Other types of content management may be used for analyzing andcategorizing content after creation. Again these managers provide auseful service but offer nothing related to the creation and approval ofcontent prior to production mode.

Some site content managers define a whole environment and require theuse of special tags and conditional processing unique to thatenvironment. The environment may also require a special interpreter,parser, cache mechanism, or user interface component, essentiallyspecialized tools adapted for the environment. Additional requirementsmay constrain the implementation to the use of a proprietary relationaldatabase for parts management and containment.

An improvement in the content management means implemented in a web siteis required to provide an enhanced means of introducing and managingchanged content into productive use. An improved content managementmeans is required to support both files and databases as informationsources and should hide such underlying implementations from the siteitself. A mechanism is required to overcome destruction of productioncontent that may occur when new material is being provided for approvalprior to production usage. Approvers need an efficient means to reviewchanges they have requested and to not be hindered by other changeactivity on the site.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention some of the above mentioneddisadvantages may be overcome by proposing a separation of developmentenvironment from the production environment and providing control ofwhen and what to place into production.

According to an aspect of the invention, a method is provided forediting content of a production data store for use by a computer system,including replicating the production data store to produce a core datastore and producing a shadow data store of a portion of the core datastore.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method is providedfor modifying the shadow data store to produce a modified shadow datastore and applying the modified shadow data store to the core data storeto create a modified core data store, then propagating the modified coredata store to the production data store to produce a modified productiondata store.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method is providedfor generating a user view for presentation to a user, from the shadowdata store and the core data store, by combining content of the shadowdata store with content of the core data store to produce a temporaryimage as a user view and presenting that temporary image to a user.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention a method is providedfor editing content of a production data store for use by a computersystem, including replicating the production data store to produce acore data store and producing a shadow data store of a portion of thecore data store. The method provides additional support for generatinguser views for presentation to users, from the shadow data stores andthe core data store, by combining content of the shadow data stores withcontent of the core data store to produce temporary images as user viewsand presenting the temporary images to users.

Another aspect of the invention, provides a method for editing contentof a production data store for use by a computer system, includingreplicating the production data store to produce a core data store,producing shadow data stores of portions of the core data store. Themethod is then used for generating user views, for presentation tousers, from respective shadow data stores and the core data store bycombining content of the shadow data stores with content of the coredata store to produce temporary images as user views and presentingthose temporary images to respective users.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method is providedfor granting review access to the user views to reviewers for reviewingthe temporary images, for acceptance. Acceptance of the temporary imagesthen authorizes application of the shadow data stores associated withthe accepted temporary images to the core data store. The authorizedshadow data stores are then applied to the core data store to create amodified core data store, after which the modified core data store isthen propagated to the production data store to produce a modifiedproduction data store.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, each temporary imageis an unique address in the computer system. Granting review access tothe user views is achieved by disclosing the unique address of eachtemporary image to a reviewer and providing permission, if required, toview contents associated with the unique address of each temporaryimage.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the computer systemhas access to a network which uses a unique Uniform Resource Locator(URL) to address each temporary image on a network such as an Intranetor the Internet. The images are webpages selected from the setcomprising documents, software programs, software modules, graphicimages, video compositions, audio compositions and webpages.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a data processingsystem is provided for editing content of a production data store foruse by a computer system, including a replicator for replicating theproduction data store to produce a core data store and a shadowproducing system for creating a shadow data store of a portion of thecore data store. The data processing system also includes a modifier formodifying the shadow data store to produce a modified shadow data storeand a system means for applying the modified shadow data store to thecore data store to create a modified core data store. The dataprocessing system contains a propagator for propagating the modifiedcore data store to the production data store to produce a modifiedproduction data store. The data processing system also includes a systemfor generating a user view for presentation to a user, from the shadowdata store and the core data store, by combining content of the shadowdata store with content of the core data store to produce a temporaryimage. The data processing system additionally contains a system forpresenting the temporary image to a user.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method is providedfor the selection of temporary images from a set comprising documents,software programs, software modules, graphic images, video compositions,audio compositions and webpages.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention a data processingsystem is provided in which each temporary image has an unique addressin the computer system. The granting of review access to the user viewsis achieved by disclosing the unique address of each temporary image toa reviewer and providing permission, if required, to view contentsassociated with the unique address of each temporary image.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, an article isprovided for editing content of a production data store containing acomputer-readable signal-bearing medium with code in the medium forreplicating the production data store to produce a core data store andcode in the medium for producing a shadow data store of a portion of thecore data store.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, an article isprovided for editing content of a production data store for use by acomputer system. The article contains a computer-readable signal-bearingmedium, code in the medium for replicating the production data store toproduce a core data store, and code in the medium for producing a shadowdata store of a portion of the core data store. Provided as well is codein the medium for generating user views for presentation to users, fromthe shadow data stores and the core data store, by combining content ofthe shadow data stores with content of the core data store to producetemporary images as user views. The article also contains code in themedium for presenting the temporary images to users as user views.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, an article isprovided that also contains code in the medium for granting reviewaccess to the user views to reviewers for reviewing the temporaryimages, for acceptance. The article also contains code in the medium forauthorizing application of shadow data stores, associated with acceptedtemporary images, to the core data store, and additional code in themedium for applying the shadow data stores, associated with acceptedtemporary images, to the core data store to create a modified core datastore. Code means in the medium is also provided for propagating themodified core data store to the production data store to produce amodified production data store. Additional support is provided in theform of code means in the medium for making the production data storeavailable to users by selecting at least one operation from a setcomprising publishing a URL associated with the production data store,granting read access to the production data store and making a firstcopy of the production data store from which a further copy is made fordistribution. Each temporary image has an unique address in the computersystem and granting review access to the user views is achieved bydisclosing the unique address of each temporary image to a reviewer andproviding permission, if required, to view contents associated with theunique address of each temporary image.

The present invention for editing content of a production data storeapplies to static as well as dynamic material and a combined use of fileand database content is supported.

Using a single code base implementation which is independent of filedirectory or database schema structure and common tools without the needfor special parsers or interpreters, developers work on assigned portionwithout inhibiting each other. The shadow data store used by developerscontains change data only, eliminating the risk of manipulating otherdata used in production.

Views provide a logical joining of each set of shadow data stores with aproduction core data store allowing approvers to see only what isneeded. In addition virtual sites can be materialized through theseviews, with easy switching between test and production views viauniversal resource locators (URL). In addition an identification meansto distinguish publishable material from development material isprovided, wherein “publish” provides a signal that a product or categorycan or cannot be viewed and “under construction” signals a product orcategory can only be viewed in a development instance.

Other and further advantages and features of the invention will beapparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be better understood, and other advantages andproperties will more clearly emerge, from the embodiments describedbelow and illustrated by the following drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a data processing system suitable forthe present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a data processing system incorporatingthe present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a high level view of the components ofthe invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a detailed view of the contentmanagement environment from FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 a is a flow diagram in block form showing an initializationprocess for the invention.

FIG. 5 b is a flow diagram in block form showing an end to end processflow of the invention.

FIG. 5 c is a diagram in block form showing the relationship defined byviews.

FIG. 6 a is a flow diagram in block form showing a read view processflow of the invention.

FIG. 6 b is a flow diagram in block form showing an insert/updateoperation process flow of the invention.

FIG. 6 c is a flow diagram in block form showing a delete process flowof the invention.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram in block form showing a publication process ofthe invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference tothe drawings.

FIG. 1 depicts in a simplified block diagram a computer system 100representing one embodiment for implementing the present invention.Computer 102 has a central processing unit (CPU) 110, which is aprogrammable processor for executing programmed instructions, such asinstructions contained in application programs 121, stored in memory108. Memory can include hard disk, tape or other media. While a singleCPU is depicted in FIG. 1, it is understood that other forms of computersystems can be used to implement the invention, including multiple CPUs.It is also appreciated that the present invention can be implemented ina distributed computing environment having a plurality of computerscommunicating via a suitable network 119, such as the Internet.

CPU 110 is connected to memory 108 either through a dedicated system bus105 and/or an general system bus 106. Memory 108 can be a random accesssemiconductor memory for storing both executable application programs121 and data such as that retrieved from a storage device 144 viastorage adapter 142. Memory 108 is depicted conceptually as a singlemonolithic entity but it is well known that memory 108 can be arrangedin a hierarchy of caches and other memory devices. FIG. 1 illustratesthat operating system 120 and executable application programs 121 residein memory 108.

Operating system 120 provides functions such as device interfaces,memory management, multiple task management, and the like as known inthe art. CPU 110 can be suitably programmed to read, load, and executeinstructions of operating system 120 and instructions of executableapplication programs 121. Computer system 102 has the necessarysubsystems to implement editing content of a production data store aswill be discussed later. Application programs 121 include serversoftware applications in which network adapter 118 interacts with theserver software application to enable computer 102 to fiction as anetwork server via network 119.

Bus 106 supports transfer of data, commands, and other informationbetween various subsystems of computer system 102. While shown insimplified form as a single bus, bus 106 can be structured as multiplebuses arranged in hierarchical form. Display adapter 114 supports videodisplay device 115, which is a cathode-ray tube display or othersuitable display technology. Input/output adapter 112 supports suitableinput and output devices, such as keyboard and mouse devices 113.Storage adapter 142 supports one or more data storage devices 144, whichis a magnetic hard disk drive or CD ROM drive although other types ofdata storage devices can be used.

Adapter 117 is used for operationally connecting many types ofperipheral computing devices to computer 102 via bus 106, such asprinters, bus adapters, other computers using one or more protocolsincluding Token Ring, LAN connections, as known in the art. Networkadapter 118 provides a physical interface to a suitable network 119,such as the Internet. Adapter 118 includes a modem that can be connectedto a telephone line for accessing network 119. Computer 102 can beconnected to another network server via a local area network using aprotocol and the network server which can in turn be connected to theInternet. FIG. 1 is intended as an exemplary simplified representationof computer 102 by which embodiments of the present invention can beimplemented. It is understood that in other computer systems manyvariations in system configuration are possible in addition to thosementioned here.

Also shown residing within memory 108 is a compiler 126 suitable forcompiling programs such as those of application programs 121. There isalso a file management component 130 and a database manager component122, each being responsible for managing their respective types of data.A set of editors and utilities 136 is provided for general programminguse. A description of these items and their functions will be describedlater.

Referring to FIG. 2, a data processing system 200 incorporating anembodiment of the present invention is shown. The data processing system200 comprises a central processing unit 110 that is coupled to a memory108 into which executable program code and data is loaded. Similarly avideo display 115 with a keyboard and a pointing device 113 are providedfor user input output presentation means (such as reading views). A diskstorage device 230, a disk storage device 232 and a storage device 234(which may be disk or tape or other suitable device) are provided fordata storage. One skilled in the art will recognize the data processingsystem 200 as a general purpose digital computer. In FIG. 2 therelational database management system 122 incorporating software modulesis stored on and loaded from a disk storage device 230. The relationaldatabase management system 122 comprises functional modules such as datamanagement services 240 and access control services 242. Data items suchas the core data store 340, and production data store 350 associatedwith either the relational database management system 122 or the filemanagement system 130 may be stored on the disk storage device 230 orother such devices as disk storage devices 232 and 234.

FIG. 3 depicts an example of the content management environment of theinvention. The content management environment 301 as shown in apreferred embodiment is separated from the production environment 302.This advantageous approach maintains focus on changing content withinthe content management environment 301 while avoiding unnecessary changein the production environment 302 and associated application 121.

The content management environment 301 contains components required forthe pre-production activities involved in building the production datastore 350. Application 360 is invoked by users to access the contents ofthe production data store 350 as required.

Content management instances 0 through n (integers 310, 320 and 330) arethe components under construction being developed into a futureproduction instance. Content management instances are stored in shadowdata stores and provide an overlay of change data for correspondingportions of the core data store.

As seen in FIG. 3, no content management instance is ever directlyrelated with nor moved to the production data store. This type ofseparation eliminates the risk of any content being unintentionallyexposed in a production mode.

FIG. 4 is a detailed representation of the content managementenvironment introduced in FIG. 3. The content management environment 400is shown containing a content management instance n, 401, comprised of anumber of components with associated interactions. Application 121 is ageneric application such as a browser or a simple tool used to provide amock production application. Application 121 is used to access theinformation contained in the core data store 340. The application 121does not deal directly with the core data store 340 but it does see theinformation through a component, the view 430. View 430 is a logicalcombination of information supplied from the core data store 340 andoverlaid with change data from shadow data store 440. The datamanipulation prior to viewing is done by the content management editingtool 420. The content management editing tool 420 may be a specializedtool adapted to specific circumstances and data or it may be a simpletext editor. The change data in the shadow data store 440 is used tofinally alter, by pushing changes into, the core data store 450 aftertheir approval, or temporarily alter, by way of views, the presentationof information from the core data store 450.

Referring now to FIG. 5 a, the initialization process of the inventionis shown. This process is performed once to create the first instance ofthe content management environment depicted in FIG. 3. Processing beginsat Start 500 where any necessary allocations and setup may occur.Operation 502, create core data store, creates the first instance of thepre-production repository upon which changes will be implemented, testedand verified. In operation 504, a shadow data store is created tocontain the instances of change data that will be applied to therecently created core data store content. Change data is composed ofnewly created data and data portions extracted from the core data store.Views are then created in the next operation 506. These views arelogical combinations of data from the shadow data store and the coredata store. Views are made accessible to users as universal resourcelocators (URLs). Views do not alter core data store data, they are usedto present the composite of the core data store data and shadow datastore data for review.

Upon completion of the view creation in operation 506, processing movesto operation 508 where a check is made for the existence of more contentmanagement instances. If more instances are found, the process loopsback to operation 504 to process the instance. If no more instances arefound processing moves to operation 510 where a check is made for theexistence of a production data store. If no production data storeexists, the process moves to end at operation 514, otherwise, theprocess moves to operation 512 where the production data store would bebacked up during operation 512 and restored into the core data store(making a copy or replica of the production data store). The processthen moves to end at operation 514.

In FIG. 5 b, the end to end flow begins with operation 560, to performany necessary setup, and moves to operation 562. During operation 562,the content management instance processing is performed (detailed later)and the process moves forward to operation 563.

During operation 563, a preview, a temporary image, of the proposedchanges to the core data store is performed. The preview is accomplishedthrough the distribution of views to selected users. After previewingthe changes, the process moves to operation 564, where approval of thepreviewed changes is sought. Any change not approved in operation 564,is sent back for rework in operation 562. Approved changes move theprocess to operation 566 where the changes are added to the core datastore. The pushing of the changes to the core data store is notdestructive to any item currently in production as no production data isaltered at this point.

Implementing approved changes in the core data store is the first steptowards committing changes to a production environment. The data and thefile content (referred to as content units) from the previous operationsis pushed in operation 566, selectively by content unit, from the shadowdata store to the core data store. After the change has been pushed tothe core data store, another check is performed in operation 568 to seeif the result fulfills the requirements. If the result does not meetexpectations and change is necessary and the process would loop back tooperation 562 for the rework of the associated content. If the resultingchange to the core data store was acceptable, and no further change isneeded, it is ready for scheduled propagation to production and theprocess moves to operation 570. Completing operation 570 moves theprocess to operation 572 where the change is checked again. If thechange is not desired, the content unit will have to be modified on theshadow data store, in operation 562, moving through the operations inthe same manner as a new change.

If the change was acceptable, operation 572 would pass process controlto end the process at operation 574.

Referring now to FIG. 5 c, there is a representation of the logicalrelationship between the data of the shadow data stores and the coredata store, known as a view. Shadow data stores 440, 441, 442, and 443are shown in the example of FIG. 5 c, wherein shadow data stores 440 and443 have a view defined, view 430 and view 431, respectively. View 430,represents the logical relationship between the shadow data store 100and the core data store 340. View 430 does not entail any physicalbinding. View 431 is a different and separate relationship betweenshadow data store 160 and the core data store 340. View 431, whilesharing the same core data store, is independent of view 430. View 431is just a presentation instance, or temporary image, of content unitscontained in shadow data store 160 combined with core data store 340.The materialization of change data in the view as a temporary image,allows reviewers to see the proposed result of the requested changewithout impacting the production data. Views, such as view 430 and view431, provide content management developers an opportunity to selectivelyassociate content management instances defined within a shadow datastore with the core data store 340. Changes materialized in a specificview as temporary images do not become part of the core data store 340until such changes have been reviewed, approved and implemented.

FIGS. 6 a, 6 b, and 6 c show three types of operations dealing with datain the shadow data store.

In the simple case of FIG. 6 a, beginning at operation 602, a user wouldopen a view then see the information made available through that viewfor review in operation 604 and end at operation 606 closing the view.This is the means by which a reviewer would be allowed to see changesapplicable to the core data store as a part of the change review andapproval process.

In FIG. 6 b, an insert/update operation is shown. Beginning at operation620 opening the shadow data store, the process moves to operation 622 inwhich a determination is made regarding the existence of the specificdata within the shadow data store. If the data exists, the process movesto operation 626 in which the shadow data store is then updated inaccordance with the change supplied and the process then proceeds to endat operation 628.

If however during operation 622, the specified data cannot be located,the process would then move to operation 624. During operation 624 thespecified data would be inserted into the shadow data store and uponcompletion the process would then move to end at operation 628.

A delete operation is shown in FIG. 6 c. Processing begins withoperation 650 opening the shadow data store and moves to operation 652during which the shadow data store is examined for the existence of thespecified data to be deleted. If the specified data cannot be locatedduring operation 652 processing will be directed to operation 654. Inoperation 654, the specified data is inserted into the shadow data storewith a delete mark added and the process would move to end at operation662.

If during operation 652, the specified data was located, processingwould then have moved to operation 656. During operation 656 the coredata store is then checked for the existence of the specified data. Ifthe specified data was not located during operation 656, the processwould then move to operation 658, during which the specified data wouldbe deleted from the shadow data store, as it was no longer required andthe process would then move to stop at operation 662.

Upon locating the specified data during operation 656, the process wouldmove to operation 660 where the located data in the shadow data storewould be updated with a delete mark and the process would then move toend at operation 662.

FIG. 7 depicts the process of updating a core data store after approvalof the content. Beginning at start operation 700 (initialization ofapplicable units is performed, this is not shown but is a well knownprocess), the process moves to the selection of approved content unitsin operation 702. Each approved content unit is examined in turn inoperation 704 to determine which operation, insert/update or delete, isrequired. If the operation requested is a delete, processing moves tooperation 706 where the specified data is deleted from the core datastore. After deleting the data from the core data store, the processcontinues to operation 714 to also delete the data from the shadow datastore.

Upon completion of operation 714, a determination is made in operation716 regarding the availability of additional components of selectedcontent units or more content units. If there are no more units toprocess, the process moves to end at operation 718, otherwise theprocess loops back to operation 704 to continue processing the remainingunits.

If during operation 704, it was determined that an insert/update requestwas encountered, processing would have moved to operation 708, where thecore data store would have been searched for the specified data. If thespecified data was not located during operation 708, processing wouldhave moved to operation 710, otherwise if the data had been located theprocess would have been directed to operation 712.

During operation 710, the specified data would be inserted into the coredata store, and the process moved to operation 714. In operation 714,the data would be deleted from the shadow data store and upon completionmove the process to operation 716. Again during operation 716, a checkis made on the availability of more units to process with the actionthat follows having been previously described.

If directed from operation 708 to operation 712, processing would thencause the specified data to be updated in the core data store. Afterperforming the update, processing would move to operation 714 forprocessing as described previously.

The concepts of the present invention can be further extended to avariety of applications that are within the scope of this invention.Having thus described the present invention with respect to a preferredembodiment as implemented, it will be apparent to those skilled in theart that many modifications and enhancements to the present inventionare possible without departing from the basic concepts as described inthe preferred embodiment of the present invention. Therefore what isintended to be protected by way of letters patent should be limited onlyby the scope of the following claims.

1.-5. (canceled)
 6. A method for editing content of a production datastore for use by a computer system, comprising: replicating saidproduction data store to produce a core data store; producing shadowdata stores of portions of said core data store; and generating userviews for presentation to users, from said shadow data stores and saidcore data store, by combining content of said shadow data stores withcontent of said core data store to produce temporary images as userviews.
 7. The method of claim 6 further comprising: presenting saidtemporary images to users.
 8. A method for editing content of aproduction data store for use by a computer system, comprising:replicating said production data store to produce a core data store;producing shadow data stores of portions of said core data store;generating user views for presentation to users, from respective shadowdata stores and said core data store, by combining content of saidrespective shadow data stores with content of said core data store toproduce temporary images as user views.
 9. The method of claim 8 furthercomprising: presenting said temporary images to respective users. 10.The method of claim 7 further comprising: granting review access to saiduser views to reviewers for reviewing said temporary images, foracceptance thereof; authorizing application of shadow data stores,associated with accepted temporary images, to said core data store; andapplying said shadow data stores, associated with accepted temporaryimages, to said core data store to create a modified core data store.11. The method of claim 10 further comprising: propagating said modifiedcore data store to said production data store to produce a modifiedproduction data store.
 12. The method of claim 10 wherein each saidtemporary image has an unique address in said computer system; saidgranting review access to said user views being achieved by disclosingsaid unique address of each temporary image to a reviewer and providingpermission, if required, to view contents associated with said uniqueaddress of each temporary image.
 13. The method of claim 12 wherein saidcomputer system has access to a network which uses a unique UniformResource Locator (URL) to address each said temporary image.
 14. Themethod of claim 13 wherein said network comprises an Intranet.
 15. Themethod of claim 13 wherein said network comprises the Internet.
 16. Themethod of claim 11 wherein the production data store includes at leastone web page, said at least one web page being identified by arespective URL.
 17. The method of claim 13 wherein said temporary imagescomprise web pages, said web pages being identified by respective URLs.18. (canceled)
 19. The method of claim 7 wherein said temporary imagesare selected from a set comprising: documents, software programs,software modules, graphic images, video compositions, audio compositionsand web pages.
 20. The method of claim 9 wherein said temporary imagesare selected from a set comprising: documents, software programs,software modules, graphic images, video compositions, audio compositionsand webpages.
 21. The method of claim 11 wherein said production datastore is made available to users by selecting at least one operationfrom a set comprising; publishing a URL associated with said productiondata store; granting read access to said production data store; andmaking a first copy of said production data store from which a furthercopy is made for distribution. 22.-27. (canceled)
 28. A data processingsystem for editing content of a production data store for use by acomputer system, comprising: replicating means for replicating saidproduction data store to produce a core data store; means for producingshadow data stores of portions of said core data store; and generatingmeans for generating user views for presentation to users, from saidshadow data stores and said core data store, by combining content ofsaid shadow data stores with content of said core data store to producetemporary images as user views.
 29. The data processing system of claim28, further comprising: presenting means for presenting said temporaryimages to users.
 30. A data processing system for editing content of aproduction data store for use by a computer system, comprising:replicating means for replicating said production data store to producea core data store; producing means for producing shadow data stores ofportions of said core data store; generating means for generating userviews for presentation to users, from respective shadow data stores andsaid core data store, by combining content of said respective shadowdata stores with content of said core data store to produce temporaryimages as user views.
 31. The data processing system of claim 30,further comprising: presenting means for presenting said temporaryimages to respective users.
 32. The data processing system of claim 28further comprising: access control means for granting review access tosaid user views to reviewers for reviewing said temporary images, foracceptance thereof; authorizing means for authorizing application ofsaid shadow data stores associated with accepted temporary images tosaid core data store; and application means for applying said shadowdata stores associated with accepted temporary images to said core datastore to create a modified core data store.
 33. The data processingsystem of claim 32, further comprising: propagating means forpropagating said modified core data store to a production data store toproduce a modified production data store.
 34. The data processing systemof claim 32, wherein each said temporary image has an unique address insaid computer system; said granting review access to said user viewsbeing achieved by disclosing said unique address of each temporary imageto a reviewer and providing permission, if required, to view contentsassociated with said unique address of each temporary image.
 35. Thedata processing system of claim 34, wherein the computer system hasaccess to a network which uses a unique Uniform Resource Locator (URL)to address each said temporary image.
 36. The data processing system ofclaim 35, wherein said network comprises an Intranet.
 37. The dataprocessing system of claim 35 wherein said network comprises theInternet.
 38. The method of claim 33 wherein the production data storeincludes at least one web page, said at least one web page beingidentified by a respective URL.
 39. The data processing system of claim34 wherein said temporary images are webpages, said webpages beingidentified by URLs.
 40. (canceled)
 41. The data processing system ofclaim 29 wherein said images are selected from a set comprising:documents, software programs, software modules, graphic images, videocompositions, audio compositions and web pages.
 42. The data processingsystem of claim 31 wherein said images are selected from a setcomprising: documents, software programs, software modules; graphicimages, video compositions, audio compositions and web pages.
 43. Thedata processing system of claim 33 wherein said production data store ismade available to users by selecting at least one operation from a setcomprising; publishing a URL associated with said production data store;granting read access to said production data store; and making a firstcopy of said production data store from which a further copy is made fordistribution. 44.-49. (canceled)
 50. An article for editing content of aproduction data store for use by a computer system, comprising: acomputer-readable signal-bearing medium; code means in the medium forreplicating said production data store to produce a core data store;code means in the medium for producing a shadow data store of a portionof said core data store; code means in the medium for generating userviews for presentation to users, from said shadow data stores and saidcore data store, by combining content of said shadow data stores withcontent of said core data store to produce temporary images as userviews; and code means in the medium for presenting said temporary imagesto users as user views.
 51. The article of claim 50, wherein the mediumis a data storage medium capable for recording data.
 52. The article ofclaim 51, wherein the medium is selected from a group consisting ofmagnetic, optical, biological and atomic data storage media.
 53. Thearticle of claim 50, wherein the medium is a modulated carrier signal.54. The article of claim 53, wherein the signal is a transmission overat least one selected from a group of networks comprising the Internetand Extranet.
 55. An article for editing content of a production datastore for use by a computer system, comprising: a computer-readablesignal-bearing medium; code means in the medium for replicating saidproduction data store to produce a core data store; code means in themedium for producing a shadow data store of a portion of said core datastore; and code means in the medium for generating user views forpresentation to users, from respective shadow data stores and said coredata store, by combining content of said respective shadow data storeswith content of said core data store to produce temporary images as userviews; and code means in the medium for presenting said temporary imagesto users as user views.
 56. The article of claim 55, wherein the mediumis a data storage medium capable for recording data.
 57. The article ofclaim 56, wherein the medium is selected from a group consisting ofmagnetic, optical, biological and atomic data storage media.
 58. Thearticle of claim 55, wherein the medium is a modulated carrier signal.59. The article of claim 58, wherein the signal is a transmission overat least one selected from a group of networks comprising the Internetand Extranet.
 60. The article of claim 55 further comprising; code meansin the medium for granting review access to said user views to reviewersfor reviewing said temporary images, for acceptance thereof; code meansin the medium for authorizing application of shadow data stores,associated with accepted temporary images, to said core data store; andcode means in the medium for applying said shadow data stores,associated with accepted temporary images, to said core data store tocreate a modified core data store.
 61. The article of claim 60 furthercomprising: code means in the medium for propagating said modified coredata store to said production data store to produce a modifiedproduction data store.
 62. The article of claim 61, further comprising;code means in the medium for making said production data store availableto users by selecting at least one operation from a set comprising;publishing a URL associated with said production data store; grantingread access to said production data store; and making a first copy ofsaid production data store from which a further copy is made fordistribution.
 63. The article of claim 55 wherein each said temporaryimage has an unique address in said computer system; said grantingreview access to said user views being achieved by disclosing saidunique address of each temporary image to a reviewer and providingpermission to view contents associated with said unique address of eachtemporary image if required.